The Sun House Galle Sri Lanka Hotel Review - Brunching outside the Omelette

Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day. But even at luxury hotels, you get the same old, same old: a choice of English (meat, eggs, toast, coffee), continental (English minus the meat and eggs) and Sri Lankan breakfasts (string hoppers and such).

I was complaining about this to my wife when we went to the Sun House in Galle for our anniversary. It is a colonial-era bungalow built by a Scottish (Broon!) spice merchant that has been converted into a 7 room hotel. It's really well done: they've kept the colonial style but added modern furniture and design touches. And they've cranked the colour wheel to 11 - everything in the rooms that isn't white is riotously colourful.

We stayed in the Araliya room which has a four poster bed. This is important if your spouse is of a romantic bent as mine is: she watches the BBC's Pride and Prejudice and swoons for Firth about once a month. Everything in this room that wasn't white was green and blue, albeit a tasteful, Barefoot-y green and blue. Just outside the room are the tables for individual dining, set on the bungalow verandah. The verandah looks out to the garden of Araliya trees and pool.

We were on that verandah - yours truly whining about boring breakfasts - when the waiter brought the breakfast menu. I noticed that there was something I hadn't seen before - a dish called the Sun House Cheese Chilli Tomato Eggs (or something like that.) I was expecting something like a Sri Lanka savoury omelette. What I got was...well, let me explain.

They had diced tomatoes, chopped a few green chillis and, with some spicing, made it into a chunky base. Three fried eggs were placed on the base, with some of the base scooped over the edge of the eggs. Finally, cheese had been sprinkled liberally and melted over the eggs.

First, it was really good. Really, really good. It had Sri Lankan touches. And it was very different, like a Sri Lanka huevos rancheros.

The Sun House is relatively expensive and does have its weak points: it serves weak, terrible tea, there's no beach access and it's a fair walk to the Galle Fort. But these eggs put those negatives in perspective - it's tasteful, relaxing, beautiful, romantic and serves an amazing breakfast. What more could you want?

Hotel Name: The Sun House
Address: Upper Dickson Rd (Take Galle Rd past the fort toward Matara; turn right just when you come to the fish market; go straight across Main St and take the road going up the hill)
Phone: +94 91 4380275
Rates (all inclusive): The rate we got - LKR 16,000 a night for locals - included breakfast and afternoon tea. Lunch is ala carte. For dinner, you can have a set menu for LKR 3,000 per head or order from the bar menu (all items cost LKR 650 each)
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